ARCH5321 ARCHITECTURAL THEORY & CRITICISM The Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Architecture 2013 14 1st Term ARCH 5321 Time: Wednesday 9:30 to 12:15 Time: Wed 2:30 pm - 5:15 pm Location: Venue: WMY TBD 304 Time may be changed to Wed afternoon Instructor: Patrick Hwang Phwang@cuhk.edu.hk Office Hour: Wednesday 1:30 to 5:30 AIT Room: 203 Critic Sees, Jasper Johns 1964 DESCRIPTION The aim of this course is to understand contemporary architectural theory and criticism through the analysis of seminal buildings and writings. The instructor will deliver ten thematic lectures, each addressing a specific theoretical concept or position since the 1950s. Instead of creating a survey in the history of architectural theories, each lecture will be framed around a specific subject, movement, idea, or theoretical position of its time. The subject in discussion will be juxtaposed with art, culture and politics of its time to sketch an illuminating contextual background. The lectures are organized to provide a framework for understanding the emphasized theoretical trajectories and debates covered by the course, while allowing ideas occurring on the periphery (outside of the course) to be further investigated independently by individuals. Students are expected to read the specific assigned readings prior to the weekly lectures in order to better understand and question the theoretical concepts. Through reading of the seminal essays, students shall first become familiar with the topic of study and offer their critical point of view in response to the ideas and concepts behind. Another critical intention for the course is to generate a dialogue and understanding between theory and design practice, allowing students to further consider their instrumental relationships and how it might inform the development of their own architectural thesis. OBJECTIVE To incite and sustain individual's curiosity in architecture theory and criticism. To complement design studio by analyzing critical ideas and their useful applications in the design process To analyze critical writing and built work, and to draw out the ideas behind them To provide an intellectual bridge across the suspended space between theory and practice To allow individuals to develop their own lens for which to interpret and make sense of architecture theory and criticism COURSE FORMAT The structure of the course is based around lectures, discussions and workshops. Students will exercise the writing of essays, generating of visual representations and give group visual presentations.
SCHEDULE OF THEMATIC TOPICS Week Date Topic 1 04.09 Introduction/ Course Framework & Schedule 2 11.09 Lecture 1/ Metropolis & Modernity Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Illuminations Siegfried Kracauer, "The Mass Ornament," New German Critique 5 3 18.09 Lecture 2/ Simplicity: Autonomy and Rationality Theodor Adorno, "Functionalism Today," Oppositions, no. 17 Le Corbusier, "Eyes Which Do Not See, III Automobiles," Towards A New Architecture 4 25.09 Due: Assignment 1 Individual Essay 25.09 Lecture 3/ The Avant Garde: Dada, Team X and Metabolist Peter Bürger, Theory of the Avant Garde and Critical Literary Science, Theory of the Avant Garde Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist, "Kisho Kurokawa," Project Japan Presentation 1: Metropolis and Modernity G1 Walter Benjamin, "Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century," Reflections Criticism by: G3 G2 Georg Simmel,"The Metropolis and Mental Life," On Individuality and Social Forms Criticism by: G4 5 02.10 Lecture 4/ Complexity: Communication and Deconstruction Robert Venturi, "Introduction, Chapter 1 4," Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture Mark Wigley, "The Translation of Architecture, the Production of Babel," Assemblage 8 Presentation 2: Avant Garde G3 Gordon Matta Clark, Art, Architecture and Attack on Modernism Criticism by: G5 G4 Koolhaas + Obrist, Project Japan Criticism by: G6 6 09.10 Lecture 5/ Contextualism and Nostalgia Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, "Collage City" Andres Duany, "Coding America," ANY 1, Seaside and the Real World, July/ August 1993 Presentation 3: Complexity G5 Venturi, Brown, Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas Criticism by: G7 G6 Robert Mugerauer, "Derrida and Beyond," Architecture and Urbanism no. 216 Criticism by: G8 7 16.10 Lecture 6/ Phenomenon: Place and Material Martin Heidegger, "Building, Dwelling, Thinking," Poetry, Language, Thought Kenneth Frampton, "Prospects for a Critical Regionalism", Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal 20 Presentation 4: Contextualism G7 Thomas L. Schumacher, Contextualism: Urban Ideals + Deformations Criticism by: G9 G8 A. Duany, E. Plater Zyberk, and J. Speck, Suburban Nation Criticism by: G10
8 23.10 Lecture 7/ Performance: Event and Space Bernard Tschumi, "Spaces and Events," Questions of Space Rem Koolhaas, "The Downtown Athletic Club," Delirious New York Presentation 5: Phenomenon G9 Peter Zumthor, Atmospheres Criticism by: G11 G10 Christian Norberg Schulz, Genius Loci Criticism by: G12 9 30.10 Lecture 8/ Representation: Drawing to Scripting 10 06.11 Lecture 9/ Surface and Datagram Robin Evans, "In Front of Lines That Leave Nothing Behind," AA Files 6 Stan Allen, "The Digital Complex," Log Volume 5, Spring/ Summer, 2005 Presentation 6: Performance G11 Bernard Tschumi, Questions of Space Criticism by: G13 G12 Guy Debord, Toward a Situationist International Criticism by: G14 Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, "1440: The Smooth and the Striated," A Thousand Plateaus Greg Lynn, "The Folded, the Pliant and the Supple," Bodies & Blobs Collected Essays Presentation 7: Representation G13 Robin Evans, Translations from Drawing to Building Criticism by: G15 G14 Stan Allen, Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation Criticism by: G16 11 13.11 Lecture 10/ Post critical and Contemporary Robert Somol and Sarah Whiting, Notes around the Doppler Effect and Other Moods of Modernism, Log Volume 5, Spring/ Summer 2005 Reinhold Martin, Moment of Truth, Log Volume 7, Winter/ Spring 2006 Presentation 8: Surface and Datagram G15 Stan Allen, Points and Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City Criticism by: G1 G16 Reiser and Umemoto, Atlas of Novel Tectonics Criticism by: G2 12 20.11 Due: Assignment 3/ Group Thematic Posters 13 27.11 NO CLASS Review Week 14 11.12 Due: Assignment 4/ Individual Take Home Exam Paper PROPOSED SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE List of books required for group presentation has been placed on university library reserves ASSIGNMENTS The assignments are designed for you to be more critical about what you see and read, as well as more aware of your own opinions about architecture. It is meant to enable you to clarify or challenge the author s (architect or theorist) own point of view by making interpretations of your own.
Assignment 1 / Individual Essay Select ONE of the Architectural drawings from the course server and write a 4 500 words essay to offer your critique and analysis. In this first essay, you will not need to look up information about the given drawing. Instead you are encouraged to analyze based on what you can see through your critical eyes. Speculate on the intentions of the architect, think of the meaning beneath and in front of the drawing. Consider the spatial dimensions and translate them into scalable terms. Examine the medium used for making the drawing and seek out the reasoning behind. Possible questions to ask: 1. In thinking about the materialities of the lines, is it representational or does it depict itself? 2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this mode of representation? 3. What evidence of rules, traditions, styles, conventions can you trace to situate its genre? 4. What evidence of innovation, reform, change or improvement? 5. What is emphasized and what is left out of the place (or the picture frame)? 6. What seem to be programmatic and symbolic intentions? Use layout format provided on the course server. Essay shall include title and your name. Design the essay to incorporate the analyzed drawing within the layout format. Before handing the essay it has to be revised and signed by one classmate of free choice. Due: September 25 Assignment 2/ Group Slide Presentation Slideshow presentation to convey the critical points behind a thematic topic or theory. Slideshow to be in landscape format with total of 40 slides, no more no less. Verbal presentation shall be limited to 20 minutes per group. Each group will composed of three to four students. Presentation will be interrupted after 20 minutes to allow enough time for discussions. Questions to be addressed in the presentation may include the following: Who are the authors? In which theoretical discourse can they be located? What are the main arguments? How do they analyze architecture? What can we learn from their approach to architecture? Which are the main references and why were they selected? What influence if any does it have on the architectural practice? What influence if any does it have on the practices and built environment of Hong Kong or PRD? Student presentation shall not repeat information communicated by the instructor, but instead generate deeper focus or provide alternate points of views. Due: Rolling Due Date Assignment 3 / Group Thematic Propaganda Poster Communicate the concepts behind a thematic topic on a sheet of A1 poster in portrait orientation. Create a poster to communicate, in a propaganda style/ manner the concepts behind a thematic topic. The poster shall be visually stunning while informative in conveying the key points of the thematic topic. The poster shall be: Informative in capturing the essence and concepts behind the theory Visually beautiful Provoke and stimulate reaction and responses Graphically reflect the nature of the thematic theory. I.e. A classical subject shall not be represented by a modernist graphic Due: November 20, 2013 Assignment 4 / Individual Take Home Exam From a given list of questions to be distributed towards the end of term, student will select one question and write a 2 3000 words research paper responding to the question. The paper should have a length of 2 3000 words with illustrating images as required. All images have to be labeled with captions (name of project, place, architect(s), year of planning and completion, image source). Cite research references to avoid plagiarism. Any content written or generated by someone else, shall be given the proper citations. Use the same layout format provided for prior assignments. Before handing the paper it has to be revised and signed by one classmate of free choice. Due: December 11, 2013
Participation/ Quiz Pop quiz will be given occasionally to refresh the thematic topics discussed during the prior classes. Participation/ attendance and participation Attendance and participation are mandatory due to the ways in which the lectures are organized. Students must notify the instructor before class begins (via email) if absence or tardiness is necessary. Absences will be permitted due to medical or family emergencies, and should be made up to the extent possible. Each unexcused absence will drop semester grade one letter grade. Any students with more than three unexcused absences will be grounds for failure or withdrawal at the discretion of the instructor. ASSESSMENT Paper and group presentation will be evaluated based on depth of research, quality of writing, verbal presentation and analytical strength and argumentation. A good or excellent grade (B or above) can only be achieved if the paper is based on a solid research on the specific topic and a professional presentation. Texts which fail to name all sources of their information (incl. image sources) properly will not be considered for grades in the B range or above. Creativity is highly encouraged for the thematic poster. Participation is also important in enhancing student learning, which accounts for large portion of the final grade. Paper is to include footnotes and a bibliography. All used images have to be labeled. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and shall be subject of the review by disciplinary committee which may lead to failure of the course or expulsion from the university. Individual Assignment: 40% 1. Essay 2. Take Home Exam Group Assignment: 40% 1. Thematic Propaganda Poster 2. Thematic Presentation Participation: 20% 1. Attendance 2. Class participation 3. Quiz IMPORTANT NOTE TO STUDENTS: Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. With each assignment, students will be required to submit a statement that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.
GUIDELINE FOR NOTES AND REFERENCES Use following guideline for academic papers (Harvard system) for your notes and references: The authors' names (no initials) and dates are given in the body of the text for example (Biddle and Hill, 1971) and the references are listed alphabetically at the end of the paper, under the heading 'References', in the following form: Biddle, M. and Hill, D. (1971) 'Late Saxon planned towns', Antiquaries Journal 51, 70 85. Conzen, M.R.G. (1968) 'The use of town plans in the study of urban history', in Dyos, H.J. (ed.) The study of urban history (Edward Arnold, London) 113 30. Hillier, B. (1996) Space is the machine (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge). 1. A system in which numbers are inserted in the text for example 3,4 and references to these are given in numerical order at the end of the paper, under the heading 'Notes', in the following form: 3. Thomas, D. (1963) 'London's Green Belt', Geographical Journal 129, 14 24. 4. Thompson, F.M.L. (ed.) (1982) The rise of suburbia (Leicester University Press, Leicester).
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Presentation Reference Reading) Metropolis and Modernity: Simmel, Kracuer and Benjamin Siegfried Kracauer, The Hotel Lobby Neil Leach, Rethinking Architecture, A Reader in Cultural Theory Anthony Vidler, Warped Space, Art, Architecture and Anxiety in Modern Culture Simplicity: Autonomy and Rationality Walter Gropius, The New Architecture and the Bauhaus Philip Johnson, The Seven Crutches of Modern Architecture Colin Rowe, The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa, 1947 Max Risselada, Raumplan versus Plan Libre Avant Garde: Dada, Team X and Metabolist Peter Cook, Archigram Michael K. Hays, Architecture's Desire, Reading the Late Avant Garde Rem Koolhaas & Hans Ulrich Obrist, Project Japan, 2011 Eric Mumford, The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism 1928 1960, 2000 R.E. Somol editor, Autonomy and Ideology Positioning an Avant Garde in America, 1997 Complexity: Communication and Deconstruction Jacques Derrida, "Point de Folie Maintenant L'architecture," Rethinking Architecture, A Reader in Cultural Theory, 1997 Andreas Huyssen, "Introduction," After the Great Divide, 1986 Venturi, Brown, Izenour: "Ugly and Ordinary Architecture, or the Decorated Shed," Learning from Las Vegas Contextualism and Nostalgia Christopher Alexander, A City is Not A Tree Congress for the New Urbanism, "Charter of the New Urbanism," 1996 Phenomenon: Place and Material Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, The Classic Look at How We Experience Intimate Places, 1958 Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space, 1991 Christian Norberg Schulz, "Heidegger s Thinking on Architecture," Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal 20, 1983 Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture, 1996 Performance: Event and Space M. Risselada, Raumplan versus Plan Libre Alex Wall, "Programming the Urban Surface," Recovering Landscape, ed. James Corner Representation: Drawing to Scripting Stan Allen, Practice: "Constructing with lines on project," Architecture, Technique and Representation Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,"from Illuminations (New York, 1966) Robin Evans, Translations from Drawing to Building Surface and Data gram Stan Allen, "Field Conditions," Points and Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City, 1999 Gilles Deleuze, The Fold, Leibniz and the Baroque, 1993 Greg Lynn, Bodies & Blobs Collected Essays, 1998 Post critical and Contemporary Michael Speaks, "Intelligence After Theory," Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal 38, 2006 Reiser + Umemoto, Atlas of Novel Tectonics, 2003